PLAYS . A.NEi - .pLAyERs. . , THE only novelty . , of the •
Week is' Bag iXies appearance as Colonel Feignwe ; foi-Which purpose, Mrs.' Cebrreivan's caricature comedy of A.Bold Strokefor a Wife has been vamped' up into an opera, under the • title of Her aind Wear Her, with some . miserable verses by ' BBAZLEY, and seine .connionplaee Music by-Braue.orr.• Of eourse it .• has: not been •suecessful. ' The very. idea ,of Raratrat i4 such a • part as Faignwell, is so amusing an'aliiiirdity, that some fun was to be expected ; but the veteran apperns really to.have played the part le sober earnest, and spoiled-the' hurtli hybis merely bad tiding. We begin.to suspect that "seine miSchievons wag inplaying • off a dW1 jpke :at Berarma's ex- pense; and haS flattered him into a notion Of his poWers of personation. • Fie' must surely have taken the allowance of Ole preSsfOr praise: If so, a Sight'Of the Times-of Wednesday, from Which we *deriee.our informa- tion, ay undeceivelim. ...TO crown all,he was rick; it seems, in good - voice. The whole'fittracticn of the operatic part, therefore, consisted . in seeing a singer fail 'as an al tor, who never.attempted to act before. Snearnrai. KnowLEs has nearly completed a new drama' which is to 'be brought out at Covent Garden after the holydays ; himself and ELLEN TREE personatingthe hero and heroine: It is not the. Beggar's 'Daughter o f Bethnal Green, but an entirely new play. That drama, heWever, it has been suggested to hill:limey, with some judicious altera- tions, be rendered not only stageworthy, but attractive.. KNOWLES has most lik,Ay availed himself of his brief. experience swan actor • to take the measure of his own capabilities in delineating his hero.. His know- ledge of stage situations and effeetiis also in favour of the dramatic interest of his new production. . • Of the forthcoming Pantomimes, we can only judge by their titles. That at CoVent Garden should be the best, being founded on the imr- eery:tale of Puss in Boots, produced by the Prospero of Pantomimes, FARLEY, and including in its cast Little POOLE and Giant PAYNE. The title of that at Drury Lane is very geographical—Europe, Asia, Africa, and America ; or, Harlequin Mercury. The Minors, we suppose, will continue the old custom of producing :a Christmas pantomime; and Vesrers, as before, will violate it in a similar, and we hope in as agreeable a way as when she. produced Olympic Revels for the entertainment of her holyday visitors. We see the Queen's Theatre again in the list of Theatrical attrac- tions, under the management of Mr. WILDE. An actor thete named .COURTENEY is well, spoken of. • . . Miss KELLY is redecorating the interior of the Strand Theatre, which she has taken; and will shortly open with thmonodramatic en- tetteiement; in WW1 site. will display her versatile powers of acting. -fihe Queen, the Lord Chamberlain, • and a long list of the nobility, haVe most kindly promised to patronize her undertaking. Miss KELLY intends to make use of the theatre also for the purposes of her Dra- matic School, which she is about to commence. Miss KELLY is an excellent instructress ; and has given proof of her success in the in- stances of Mrs. KEELEY and Miss MURRAY, who were both her pupils. She combines an intellectual appreciation of her author, and a. true leeling• for and nice observation of nature, with a thorough knowledge of the art of personation. We think ker proposed scheme is likely to be the means of producing actors of a higher grade than ordinary. There has been, litherto, no means by which an aspirant for theatri- Cal fame could acquire a practical acquaintance with the stage, but by iimning the gauntlet of minor theatres and strolling companies ; by which course, conventional modes and stage-tricks have often been substituted for a true knowledge of the principles of acting. The dis- agreeables attendant upon this ordeal, and the degree of disreputability attached to it, have lost to the Stage many a fine performer. The country may be a good field. for practice, but it is assuredly a bad school of instruction. Acting is an art which must be acquired in some way: to be well learnt, it should be properly taught. Instruction alone will not make an actor of genius, but bad teaching may Mai one. It is this that has spoiled Miss Liston., among many others.
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